Shloka 12
न हायनैर्न पलितैर्न वित्तेन न बन्धुभि: । ऋषयश्षक्रिरे धर्म योडनूचान: स नो महान्,अधिक वर्षोकी अवस्था होनेसे, बाल पकनेसे, धन बढ़ जानेसे और अधिक भाई-बन्धु हो जानेसे भी कोई बड़ा हो नहीं सकता; ऋषियोंने ऐसा नियम बनाया है कि हम ब्राह्मणोंमें जो अंगोंसहित सम्पूर्ण वेदोंका स्वाध्याय करनेवाला तथा वक्ता है, वही बड़ा है
na hāyanair na palitair na vittena na bandhubhiḥ | ṛṣayaś cakrire dharmaṃ yo 'nūcānaḥ sa no mahān ||
Aṣṭāvakra said: “Greatness is not attained by the passing of years, nor by grey hair, nor by wealth, nor by having many relatives. The seers established this rule of dharma: among us, the one who is truly learned—fully trained in Vedic study and able to teach and speak it—is the one who is to be regarded as great.”
अष्टावक्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
True greatness and seniority are determined by learning and the capacity to articulate sacred knowledge (especially Vedic study), not by age, outward signs of age, wealth, or social connections.
Aṣṭāvakra is laying down a criterion for who deserves honor and precedence: the sages’ dharmic rule that the genuinely learned Vedic scholar is ‘great’ among Brahmins, countering assumptions based on age, riches, or family strength.